Thinking of becoming a "bariatric surgery center of excellence?" A new study published in the Archives of Surgery suggests it may not be worth the effort and expense.
Texas researchers compared outcomes of bariatric procedures at hospitals with and without the designation in 2005 and found that while centers of excellence saw a higher volume of procedures, their outcomes were no different. Both the rates of death (0.17 percent vs. 0.09 percent) and complication (6.3 percent vs. 6.4 percent) were roughly comparable among patients treated in centers of excellence vs. non-designated hospitals, respectively.
Becoming a bariatric surgery center of excellence requires doing a high volume of procedures (at least 125 a year), long-term patient follow-up by a bariatric surgery coordinator and staff, and outcomes reporting into proprietary databases. Surgical Review Corporation, a non-profit group that administers the Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, declined the opportunity to comment on the study.
The authors conclude that "extra expenses associated with center of excellence designation may not be warranted," since the study shows they produce no difference in outcomes. However, many payors, including Medicare, will only help pay for bariatric weight-loss surgery, which costs from $15,000 to $35,000, if it’s performed at a hospital with the center of excellence designation.
—Irene Tsikitas
